Category: Avaaz

Most people are eager to do the right thing. It’s simply that one can feel lost when trying to know how to help prevent climate change, help the environment and generally make the world a better place. Thankfully some organizations have risen to help people understand their options. One of the more notable is Avaaz. Created in 2007, Avaaz has made improving the world their reason for being.

The term Avaaz is based on a Persian word which means voice, or song. And this is exactly what Avaaz does. They give voice to all of the needy who find themselves unable to speak up for themselves. The group is self labeled as consisting of practical idealists. It’s a philosophy which doesn’t discount idealism. But one which also tries to frame ideology in a more practical way which can actually be acted on. This creates a far more active base upon which to push their ideals. For example, instead of just talking about presidential elections they create software to help people participate in the voting process. It’s a group which is first and foremost interested in creating results.

Another important part of how Avaaz operates is public funding. Many other groups are heavily tied to commercial interests which prevent them from important issues. Avaaz is publically funded which gives them the freedom to act according to need rather than policies. For example, political and commercial interests have kept many groups from providing aid to starving people in Yemen. The situation there has reached a point where one person is projected to die every ten minutes from malnutrition. But political and economic restrictions have kept many groups from helping this region which is quite obviously in desperate need of it. But Avaaz has been able to provide help due to the fact that their funding comes from the public. It’s a type of practical idealism which can get real world results.